2012 – Page 42 – Current Awareness

Petrodel v Prest: hiding assets behind the corporate veil? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in appeals, company law, corporate veil, disclosure, financial provision, matrimonial home, news by sally

For a long time family lawyers and the family courts have made the best of the creaking mechanism for financial provision that is the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) (much amended…). Procedural changes are made but in terms of the interpretation of the MCA 1973 itself, case law is king. The family courts “make do and mend” so that the nearly 40-year-old primary legislation is fit for purpose. But the Court of Appeal last week decided that that the company law case of Salomon v A Salomon and Company, Limited [1897] AC 22 applies as much in the disposition of ancillary relief proceedings as in other proceedings.

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 1st November 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Finance and Divorce November Update – Family Law Week

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in divorce, family courts, financial provision, news by sally

“Anna Heenan, solicitor and David Salter, Joint Head of Family Law at Mills & Reeve LLP analyse October’s financial remedies and divorce news and cases.”

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Family Law Week, 1st November 2012

Source: www.familylawweek.com

Why we allow dissent – by our judges – Legal Week

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in EC law, freedom of expression, judiciary, news by sally

“Why do judges disagree and publish their disagreements when cases get decided? After all, the Cabinet does not do so (openly at least), and our FTSE 100 companies do not generally do so, when their executives propose a merger or launch a new product. Surely, judicial dissent is a recipe for diminishing the authority of the majority answer, and an invitation to self-indulgence on the part of the minority to re-fight lost and irrelevant battles.”

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Legal Week, 1st November 2012

Source: www.legalweek.com

Ken Clarke’s reforms could still cut prison population, figures show – The Guardian

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in imprisonment, news, sentencing, statistics by sally

“Ken Clarke’s sentencing reforms could still fuel a 2,000-strong cut in the record prison population in England and Wales, according to official projections.”

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The Guardian, 1st November 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Improving the protection of children across borders – Ministry of Justice

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in child abduction, fostering, guardianship, news, parental responsibility, treaties by sally

“Children from the UK will now have international protection if they move to another country outside the European Union. The 1996 Hague Convention will be in force from today meaning the public can be assured that countries which have opted in to the treaty will uphold and enforce a court order involving the protection of a child.”

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Ministry of Justice, 1st November 2012

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Employee share ownership: proposals for the de-regulation of share buybacks by companies with employee shareholders – Employment Law Blog

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in company law, consultations, employment, news, shareholders by sally

“The Nuttall Review commissioned by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and published on 4 July 2012 identified key barriers to the uptake of employee ownership and made a number of recommendations on how to reduce these barriers.”

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Employment Law Blog, 1st November 2012

Source: www.employment11kbw.com

New rules require the disclosure of stamp duty land tax schemes relating to properties of any value – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in disclosure, news, regulations, stamp duty, tax avoidance by sally

“Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) schemes relating to residential or non-residential property of any value must be disclosed to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) from 1 November under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) rules, as new regulations come into force.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 2nd November 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in law reports by sally

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

Kirtland R. v [2012] EWCA Crim 2127 (10 October 2012)

Pope v R. [2012] EWCA Crim 2241 (01 November 2012)

Cooper, Re Application for for leave to appeal [2012] EWCA Crim 2240 (01 November 2012)

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Procter & Gamble Company & Ors v Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA & Anor [2012] EWCA Civ 1413 (01 November 2012)

Mir Steel UK Ltd v Morris & Ors [2012] EWCA Civ 1397 (01 November 2012)

High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)

Humber Oil Terminals Trustee Ltd., R (on the application of) v Marine Management Organisation [2012] EWHC 3058 (QB) (01 November 2012)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Heis & Ors (Administrators of MF Global UK Ltd.) v MF Global Inc [2012] EWHC 3068 (Ch) (01 November 2012)

High Court (Administrative Court)

Senior -Milne v Secretary of State for Justice [2012] EWHC 3062 (Admin) (30 October 2012)

High Court (Technology and Construction Court)

Harrison & Ors v Technical Sign Company Ltd [2012] EWHC 2887 (TCC) (15 October 2012)

High Court (Commercial Court)

JSC BTA Bank v Ablyazov & Ors [2012] EWHC 3023 (Comm) (01 November 2012)

Source: www.bailii.org

No removal of right of appeal without clear and express wording – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in amendments, appeals, constitutional law, judicial review, news, taxation, tribunals, VAT by sally

“Tax litigation is not the most obvious hunting ground for human rights points but if claimants feel sufficiently pinched by what they perceive as unfair rules, there is nothing to stop them appealing to the courts’ scrutiny of the lawfulness of those rules.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 1st November 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Officers will not face court over ‘errors’ that led to Leonard McCourt’s death – The Independent

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in complaints, death in custody, news, police, prosecutions by sally

“The family of a man who died in the back of a police van following a ‘catalogue of errors’ by officers supposed to be monitoring him today spoke of their anger that nobody would face a criminal prosecution over his death.”

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The Independent, 1st November 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

John Pope and John Cooper lose murder legal challenges – BBC News

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, murder, news by sally

“Two men who were legally challenging their convictions for separate murders in Cardiff and Pembrokeshire have had their appeals dismissed.”

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BBC News, 1st November 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Divorce ruling branded ‘cheat’s charter’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, company law, financial provision, matrimonial home, news by sally

“Lawyers have branded as a ‘cheat’s charter’ a Court of Appeal landmark ruling that an oil tycoon need not hand over to his wife £17.5m in assets held by his companies.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 1st November 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Command Papers – official-documents.gov.uk

Posted November 1st, 2012 in parliamentary papers by sally

Post-legislative assessment of the Building Societies (Funding) and Mutual Societies (Transfers) Act 2007, Cm 8471 (PDF)

Source: www.official-documents.gov.uk

Rahmatullah v Secretary of State for Defence and another (JUSTICE intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, detention, habeas corpus, jurisdiction, law reports, rendition, Supreme Court, terrorism, treaties by sally

Rahmatullah v Secretary of State for Defence and another (JUSTICE intervening) [2012] UKSC 48; [2012] WLR (D) 301

“Where, on an application for a writ of habeas corpus, the court was uncertain whether the respondents had sufficient control of the applicant to be able to produce him, it could properly issue the writ so that on the return that question could be determined with fuller knowledge.”

WLR Daily, 31st October 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission v Gibbons; Same v Karoonian – WLR Daily

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, child support, detention, enforcement, law reports by sally

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission v Gibbons; Same v Karoonian [2012] EWCA Civ 1379; [2012] WLR (D) 300

“Where an application was made pursuant to section 39A(1) of the Child Support Act 1991 for the committal of a person to a term of imprisonment for wilful refusal or culpable neglect in not having complied with orders to pay child support maintenance, a strict construction was to be placed on the word ‘sought’ within section 39A(1)(a) of the 1991 Act as applying to a pre-condition governing the making of such a committal order.”

WLR Daily, 30th October 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

The Procter & Gamble Co v Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA and another – WLR Daily

Posted November 1st, 2012 in costs, law reports, part 36 offers by sally

The Procter & Gamble Co v Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA and another [2012] EWHC 2839 (Ch); [2012] WLR (D) 299

“Although a monetary claim was the paradigm contemplated by CPR Pt 36, Part 36 was not confined to that. Rule 36.2(2)(c) did not mandate that the claimant had to seek costs and make payment of them a condition of his offer. The substance of the claim, and which of the parties was seeking to establish liability and which to oppose it, was one of the circumstances to be considered by the court in determining whether it would be unjust to make orders for indemnity costs and interest on costs for the purposes of rule 36.14(3).”

WLR Daily, 23rd October 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted November 1st, 2012 in legislation by sally

European Union (Approval of Treaty Amendment Decision) Act 2012

Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Act 2012

Local Government Finance Act 2012

Mental Health (Approval Functions) Act 2012

The Value Added Tax (Refund of Tax to Museums and Galleries) (Amendment) Order 2012

The Social Security (Credits) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2012

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Prior Authority For ‘Unusually Large’ Amount Of Hours Requested By An Expert – Garden Court Family Law Blog

Posted November 1st, 2012 in expert witnesses, fees, legal services, news by sally

“Since 1st October 2012, the LSC has been refusing applications for prior authority for experts if their fees are set within the codified rate [ as per the Community Legal Service (Funding) (Ammendment No.2) Order 2011]. However there is an exception – that is if the hours requested by the expert are ‘unusually large’. So the question for practioners is what constitutes an ‘unusually large’ amount of hours ? The odds are that if, for instance, you are instructing a psychologist for a bog standard cognitive assessment of a parent, then the hours are likely to be very much the same across the board. But as soon as any form of complexity creeps in, then how long the assessment / report takes to complete begins to vary. And when you get to Independent Social Workers, what is the ‘norm’ for the LSC and the ‘norm’ for the Independent Social Worker seem continents apart.”

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Garden Court Family Law Blog, 31st October 2012

Source: www.gcfamily.wordpress.com